Rating: 
Summary: Sandford's latest effecient and entertaining thriller
Review: Fresh, relentless and efficient, Sandford's Night Crew rocks from the very beginning. Sandford guides us through the Los Angeles "never dark" so swiftly and confidently that you won't have time to catch your breath. The world of Anna Batory & the night crew is new to a genre dominated by renegade cops and Jody Foster-like Feebs; it's a very welcome innovation. My one regret about the novel is that the freelance videographers need more time on the page. But then that's what sequals are for
Rating: 
Summary: Video freelancers looking for excitement find murder instead
Review: Anna Batory is in charge of THE NIGHT CREW, a motley group that roams the streets of Los Angeles looking to tape the news as its occurring during the graveyard hours. However, events turn nasty for the crew when they film a teenager leaping from a window to his death. One of her crew, Jason, who filmed the entire episode, is clearly affected by the teen's death. He leaves early. The next day, he turns up dead.
...... Though the police write off both cases as drug induced, Anna has her doubts. She joins forces with former law enforcement official Jake Harper, the father of the deceased teen, to investigate what really happened to Jason and the teen. He also has questions about the apparent suicide of his son. The pair quickly concludes that Anna's crew is being stalked by a maniac. Soon, other victims associated with the team are also killed. It is up to Anna and Jake to uncover the identity of the maniac before more corpses, including their own, litter the streets of Los Angeles.
...... A John Sandford novel is always a suspense-laden thriller that grabs the audience from the action-packed start to the mind tingling finish. Anna Batory is an intriguing new character, who readers will want to see more novels starring her. The story line is near vintage Sandford except moved from Minneapolis. In spite of this being a superior nail biter, it is not quite at the level of the author's "Prey" series. Still fans of chilling thrillers will positively love this novel.
.....Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: TALK ABOUT A STRANGE ENDING....
Review: John Sandford is obviously a prolific and talented writer, as evidenced by the success of his Lucas Davenport "Prey" series. However, with "The Night Crew," I have to wonder why all the hoopla? Granted, this book has a very interesting and unusual premise---following a bunch of "reporters" who film unusual or bizarre accidents/murders/arsons, as they occur. The main character, Anna, is sympathetic and you can relate to her, in some ways. The book's best character, Jake, the ex-cop, is also quite different and interesting.Alas, however; the plot gets so confusing and the identity of the murder is so "convenient," yet unexplained. The ending, both in regards to what occurs with Anna and Jake's relationship, and Creek's strange visit to Anna's ex-boyfriend, is just frustrating. No closure! Now, if Sandford intends a series, this ending might work, but if he doesn't, he's robbed the reader of the all-important resolution of vital closure. A real disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: Give me Lucas Davenport!
Review: This is only my 2nd John Sandford novel, my first being "Certain Prey". It was a bit of a letdown as I wasn't able to connect to the characters in "Night Crew" like I could in his other book. For one thing, Jake, the once-policeman now turned lawyer, just lost his son to suicide. He even watched it several times on tape and never really seemed to get too upset about it. He referred to the incident as "my kid" died. Well, as a woman, maybe my perspective is different, but wouldn't a dad still be a bit more upset than that? And to jump into bed with someone he had just met up with a couple of days later...also I agreed with other reviewers who thought Sandford left alot of loose ends. Like when Jake and Anna watched the suicide tape looking for clues, a piece of paper fell to the ground. What was it? Did I miss something? I was listening to it on audiotape and may have skipped something there, but couldn't see where it tied in. I usually hate to hear a good story come to an end, but with this one I was tempted to do some fast forwarding. I believe I will go back and check out some more of the Prey series, they seem to be John Sandford's best work.
Rating:
Summary: Glad to see a new character!
Review: I recently visited our local library looking for a "Prey" series book I had not read, and came across this book. I was hooked from the start and finished it within 24 hours. Now I have to go back and find another. That is my problem (if you can call it a problem) with John Sandford, the stories just pull you in. Great reading but make sure the doors are locked!
Rating:
Summary: Ok, but not great
Review: The book was pretty good (not as good as the prey novels, or even the Kidd novels) up till the end, it has no closure for the characters, unless he plans to make another, i know there was a big gap between the Kidd novels. It wasnt written as well as the prey novels, and the characters werent as strong.
Rating:
Summary: Not the John Sandford to start with
Review: Fortunately, this was not the first John Sandford novel I've read. Had it been, I probably would never have discovered the delights of Sandford's "Prey" series, which is far more accomplished and enthralling.
"Night Crew" is about Anna Bantory who runs a free-lance TV crew that roams Los Angeles at night, gathering footage they hope to sell to television stations. One night, they tape a raid by animal activists. Coincidentally a call comes in that someone is on a hotel window ledge and may jump. Anna's crew records the jump.
Hours later, someone murders a member of Anna's crew and off we go into the pursuit of a crazed killer who is obsessed with Anna.
Ho-hum. The characters are thin, the plot contrived and the novel interminable. It's not a total waste of time, but there are many other cop-novels out there that are far more enjoyable, including Sandford's own "Prey" series, which I highly recommend.
Jerry
Rating:
Summary: Sandford Shows His Sensitive Side
Review: Written with the same choppy scenes of an MTV video or the guerrilla journalism film of the story's main characters, this novel is quite unlike Sandford's Prey or Kidd series. Not only is the pacing and style different, but also his male characters have fully embraced their feminine sides to the point of being almost wimpy (even a minor character, a massive weightlifter, can freely admit to his fear of surgery). Perhaps this is to enhance his female protagonist's machoness, perhaps it's a slam at sunny California from the security of his snowbound Minnesota; either way it's a noticeable departure from his stubborn, tough-as-nails, manly-men characters.
Sandford has structured The Night Crew like a standard mystery, where the reader doesn't discover the identity of the killer until the heroine does. This means a lot of dead ends, as every last red herring has to be tracked down before the case cracks wide open. This too is a departure from Sandford's standard fare.
As with any "introductory novel," Anna Batory's story is packed with background information about its characters. Combined with the brief story segments, accommodating all the backstory makes for some very choppy, occasionally disoriented reading. I'm sure some of this is intentional, but at times it all became a little overwhelming. Combined with a lackluster serial killer (there's really nothing to him beyond general creepiness and a generic FBI profile) and several noticeable plot holes (How is Anna's neighbor able to check up on Creek who's registered in the hospital under an alias? Why aren't suspects immediately written off when they lack the requisite facial damage?), and The Night Crew becomes a run-of-the-mill story, rather than a masterpiece.
For all its shortcomings, though, The Night Crew is still an enjoyable read. Television is full of shows that didn't gel right away or took awhile to find an audience. Should Sandford choose to send Anna, Creek and company off on another investigation I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: The piece of paper...
Review: The piece of paper was the drugs! It was the drugs that the kid on the night crew took. That's why he got all weird and took off that night. The piece of paper illustrated that there was no connection between Harper's son and the kid (Jason?) on the night crew who got whacked. True, this was no Lucas Davenport thriller but it was a fun read. I enjoyed it more than the "Kidd" novel I read. It's hard to beat those Prey books. This one is a good read to tide you over until Lucas returns in May...
Rating:
Summary: TALK ABOUT A STRANGE ENDING....
Review: John Sandford is obviously a prolific and talented writer, as evidenced by the success of his Lucas Davenport "Prey" series. However, with "The Night Crew," I have to wonder why all the hoopla? Granted, this book has a very interesting and unusual premise---following a bunch of "reporters" who film unusual or bizarre accidents/murders/arsons, as they occur. The main character, Anna, is sympathetic and you can relate to her, in some ways. The book's best character, Jake, the ex-cop, is also quite different and interesting. Alas, however; the plot gets so confusing and the identity of the murder is so "convenient," yet unexplained. The ending, both in regards to what occurs with Anna and Jake's relationship, and Creek's strange visit to Anna's ex-boyfriend, is just frustrating. No closure! Now, if Sandford intends a series, this ending might work, but if he doesn't, he's robbed the reader of the all-important resolution of vital closure. A real disappointment.
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